A Rutland couple was jailed this week after denying federal charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin and crack.

Valentino Anderson, 47, and Crystal Hall Anderson, 29, both pleaded innocent to the conspiracy charge and a charge of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. Valentino Anderson also pleaded innocent to a charge of distributing heroin.

The pair was ordered detained until trial by Magistrate Judge John Conroy.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Nolan said most of the details of the case couldn’t be disclosed. But he did say the pair was arrested over the weekend on indictments for alleged drug offenses in March 2011 and the fall of 2012.

If convicted, the couple could face up to 20 years in prison.

Valentino Anderson has been in prison several times before, according to federal prosecutors. They cited a nine-to-18-year jail sentence for a 1985 robbery and murder conviction as one reason he should be held until trial.

More recently in Vermont, Valentino Anderson served 27 months in jail on a federal conviction of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.

That charge stemmed from a 2003 police investigation into crack cocaine flowing from New York and Massachusetts into Rutland.

Valentino Anderson, who at that time had a New York City address, was arrested by Rutland police in September 2003 as he was coming into Vermont from New York.

Court records show he told police he went to New York with two other people to pick up cocaine. He told police the 5 grams of cocaine he brought back to Rutland was for his personal use.

Crystal Hall Anderson’s criminal history includes eight misdemeanor convictions in Vermont related to disorderly conduct, possession of alcohol and violating court-ordered conditions of release, according to federal court records.

Several law enforcement agencies — including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Vermont State Police and Rutland City Police — were involved in the investigation that resulted in the most recent charges against the couple.